Noh Tae-ak, Who Claimed He Was Not Briefed on Ballot Paper Reduction: "False Testimony, Deceiving the Public"

'50% Reduced Printing Guideline' Was Already Reported

It has been revealed that the '50% reduced printing guideline,' which led to the shortage of ballot papers in the June 3 local elections, was reported to former National Election Commission Chairman Noh Tae-ak as early as six months prior to the election.

On June 19, Kim Eunhye, a member of the People Power Party, released all materials submitted by the National Election Commission regarding the “decision-making, discussions, and approval records related to the production and distribution of ballot papers by commissioners and standing committee members.” The National Election Commission stated, “The handbook revision was included in the ‘review of amendments to Election Management Rules and related regulations’ that was reported at the 15th committee meeting held on November 24, 2025.”

Noh Taeak, Former Chairman of the National Election Commission. Yonhap News.

Initially, the “Ballot Paper Shortage Fact-Finding Committee” (Fact-Finding Committee) had announced that former Chairman Noh had not been briefed on the matter in advance during their investigation.

The handbook revision included reducing the lower limit for printing ballot papers for the local elections to 50%. It is known that both former Chairman Noh Tae-ak and Standing Committee Member Wi Cheol-hwan attended this meeting.

According to the National Election Commission’s response, the ‘50% reduced printing guideline’ was reported to former Chairman Noh at a meeting held about two weeks to a month before the comprehensive management guideline and procedural handbook were officially revised.

Eunhye Kim, member of the People Power Party. Photo by The Asia Business Daily.

However, the National Election Commission explained to Assemblywoman Kim that “the content regarding the reduction of ballot paper printing for local elections to a 50% lower limit comprised less than a page out of the 42-page document,” and added, “Since it was not reported as a separate agenda item, there was no separate discussion on the matter.”

Previously, the National Election Commission had announced that the “9th Local Election Comprehensive Management Guideline” was approved by the Secretary-General on December 10 of last year, and the “Public Official Election Procedure Handbook” was approved by the policy chief on December 24 of the same year, thereby lowering the minimum ballot paper printing standard from 60% to 50% of eligible voters.

Assemblywoman Kim argued that former Chairman Noh deceived the public with false testimony to the Fact-Finding Committee in order to evade responsibility. She further criticized, “The limitations of the Fact-Finding Committee’s investigation, which relied solely on the statements of high-ranking officials such as Noh Tae-ak, were also clearly revealed.”

In addition, she urged, “Not only should former Chairman Noh be immediately detained and investigated, but all high-ranking officials at the National Election Commission, including Standing Committee Member Wi, should also be promptly dismissed and subjected to a compulsory investigation.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.